Northern Manitoba has proved to be the strongest region in all of the province for A Port in the Storm, an initiative that is trying to raise money to build a family-style home in Winnipeg for rural and Northern Manitobans to stay when they, or their loved ones, are undergoing medical treatment in the city.
Joanne Loughery, president and board chair of A Port in the Storm, who also teaches oncology nursing at Red River College, was in Thompson Nov. 19 and met with members of the business community to spread the word about what the organization is doing and what its goals are.
According to Loughery, each year rural and Northern Manitobans spend over 160,000 patient days in Winnipeg, with 15,298 coming from the Burntwood Regional Health Authority (BRHA).
Loughery and the A Port in the Storm teams from across the province are working to raise money for a home that would have 40 family rooms, no additional parking fees, individual bathroom suites, a communal kitchen, an area to exercise and a modern media/tele-health room.
To make this dream a reality, Loughery says the committee must raise $6.4 million. $5,11 million will go towards construction; $220,000 will go towards the building site; it will take around $250,000 to furnish the house; a $500,000 endowment; and around $400,000 in development costs. She notes she is currently researching different granting opportunities. She says that before A Port in the Storm is launched publicly the committee wants to have $1.4 million raised, hopefully by January or February.
In the North the project has been endorsed by the BRHA, the Nor-Man Regional Health Authority and the Churchill Regional Health Authority; the City of Thompson and the Town of The Pas; and Northern Association of Community Councils representing 16 communities in their Northern region alone.
A Port in the Storm has set fundraising goals for each region, with Loughery saying that so far, the North has proved to be the strongest when it comes to raising money and awareness about the campaign. The committee would like to see $300,000 to $350,000 raised in the Thompson region and $150,000 to $250,000 in the Flin Flon region.
